Clement V‧S‧O‧P Rhum Vieux Agricole

Located in the Lesser Antilles, Martinique belongs as an overseas department to the European Union. The French managed to defuse the separatist aspirations of the local population by gradually expanding their autonomous rights.

Martinique is an agricultural country and the industry is limited to the sugar industry. Napoleon at one time led to a wave of bankruptcies in this sector because of the Continental Blockade policy against the United Kingdom. As a consequence - at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries - the production of beet sugar exceeded the world production of cane sugar. Importing sugar from overseas colonies was no longer profitable.

And it was then that a Creole physician and a politically radical socialist, Dr. Homère Clément, bought a 43 hectares plantation and built a distillery there. Let's summarize: doctor - distiller, radical socialist - landlord. Oh, the world we live in. Is it full of contradictions really or maybe just the human fate is a result of circumstances?

The sugar cane is delivered from the plantation to the press to squeeze out the juice within one hour. Fermentation process lasts 2-3 days with use of natural yeast. A spirit has been distilled in copper columns. V‧S‧O‧P is a cognac designation indicating at least four years of aging; meaning here one year in Limousin oak and another three in charred bourbon barrels.